Several large wildfires are raging in central Portugal and western Spain, menacing villages amid a heatwave that meteorologists expect to push the temperatures to near or above record highs, likely stoking more blazes.

Nearly all of mainland Portugal was on red alert for extreme heat conditions, with the temperature in the central Santarem district northeast of Lisbon expected to hit 46 degrees Celsius, the IPMA weather institute said on Wednesday.

The country’s record temperature of 47.3 degrees was registered in 2003.

The World Meteorological Organisation warned on Tuesday the heatwave was spreading and intensifying in large parts of Europe.

European #heatwave
WMO's Members are providing forecasts and warnings.
Portugal had temperature of 44.6°C yesterday, per @ipma_pt
Much of Spain expected to be above 40°C today, says @AEMET_Esp
Heat accompanied by drought, wildfire risk, impacts on health and environment pic.twitter.com/rQfULU0Mqw

— World Meteorological Organization (@WMO) July 13, 2022

With human-caused climate change triggering droughts, the number of extreme wildfires is expected to increase 30 per cent within the next 28 years, according to a February 2022 UN report.

In Lisbon, thermometers were expected to register 43 degrees, close to the city’s 2018 record of 44 degrees.

More than 1400 firefighters backed by 23 aircraft were battling a dozen forest blazes across the drought-hit country with the two largest ones in central Portugal raging since at least Tuesday.

In Spain’s western region of Extremadura bordering Portugal firefighters evacuated a few hundred villagers overnight as a precaution and continued to battle a complicated blaze that on Tuesday swept into neighbouring Salamanca province in the region of Castile and Leon.

Parts of Extremadura, Andalusia and Galicia regions were on red alert for extreme heat, Spain’s AEMET meteorology service said, adding that temperatures could surpass the previous record of 47.4 degrees for all of Spain set in August 2021, and of 40.7 degrees in the capital Madrid.

As Madrid residents and tourists gulped down water and ice-cream and hid in the shade whenever possible, zoo keepers at the Madrid Zoo fed animals frozen popsicles made from fruit, beef and fish.

-Reuters